Safeway’s Small Format ‘Good, not Great’

Results from Safeway’s test of a small-store format in Long Beach, Calif., that opened in May have been "good but not great,” Steve Burd, Safeway’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, told the chain's investors conference here.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Results from Safeway’s test of a small-store format in Long Beach, Calif., that opened in May have been "good but not great,” Steve Burd, Safeway’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, told the chain's investors conference here.

The company plans to open two more small-format stores next year, including at least one that will be ground-up, "but unless the results go from good to great and we feel we can open 30 to 50 of these per year, it won't